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The Great Pretender

Viewpoints

World Premiere

USA | 71 MINUTES | English, French | English subtitles

THE GREAT PRETENDER

New York, Comedy, Drama, NY Director(s), Tribeca Film Festival Alumni
Mona (Maëlle Poésy) has recently arrived in New York from France in order to mount her newest play — an autobiographical piece that depicts her tumultuous, on-again, off-again affair with a married photographer, Nick (Linas Phillips). Mona casts Chris (Keith Poulson) as Nick and Thérèse (Esther Garrel) to play the fictional version of herself. As rehearsals begin, a love quadrangle emerges: Mona falls for Chris, Chris becomes infatuated with Mona, and Thérèse develops deep feelings for Chris. This tangled roundelay unfolds in five chapters, covering the same events from each of the four character’s perspectives and culminating in a fraught production of the play itself.

Tribeca alum Nathan Silver (Actor Martinez,Thirst Street) brings his affinity for telling stories that blur the lines between reality and fiction to The Great Pretender, while continuing to delve deeper into his ruminations on the destructive power of self-delusion. Aided by the gorgeous images lensed by cinematographer Sean Price Williams (Listen Up Philip, Good Time), Silver disposes his trademark dark humor to bring us a tangled tale of art imitating life.

—Shayna Weingast

CAST & CREDITS

Directed by Nathan Silver

Nathan Silver, who the New Yorker described as “a modernistic master of melodrama,” graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2005. Since then, he has directed eight feature films, including Thirst Street, which premiered at Tribeca in 2017; The Great Pretender is his third consecutive feature film to premiere with the festival.
Director
Nathan Silver
Producer
Matt Grady, Danelle Eliav, Nathan Silver, Jack Dunphy, Jere B. Ford
Screenwriter
Jack Dunphy
Cinematographer
Sean Price Williams
Composer
Seth Kaplan
Editor
Jack Dunphy
Executive Producer
Aziz Isham, Diane Lanyi
Associate Producer
Adam Ginsberg, Josefina Laban
Co-Producer
Claire Charles-Gervais, Galen Core
Cast
Esther Garrel, Keith Poulson, Maelle Poesy, Linas Phillips

CONTACTS

Print Source
Matt Grady
Factory 25
Brooklyn, NY 11205
Phone: 646 249 8247
matt@factory25.com
International Sales Contact
Matt Grady
Factory 25
Brooklyn, NY 11205
Phone: 646 249 8247
matt@factory25.com
Press Contact
Eleina Elachkar
Tribeca
eelachkar@tribecafilmfestival.org
US Sales Contact
Matt Grady
Factory 25
Brooklyn, NY 11205
Phone: 646 249 8247
matt@factory25.com